Gerald Smith v. William Armontrout

ARNOLD, Circuit Judge.

This is a habeas corpus case initially brought by Gerald Smith, a Missouri state prisoner under sentence of death. On September 29, 1988, a panel of this Court denied a certificate of probable cause, thus effectively dismissing the appeal from the judgment of the District Court, which had dismissed the habeas petition on its merits. Smith v. Armontrout, 692 F.Supp. 1079 (W.D.Mo.1988) (Wright, C.J.). Our panel took this action because Smith himself had asked for it, and the panel was convinced of his legal capacity to make that decision. Smith v. Armontrout, 857 F.2d 1228…